Greg Jackson Responds to Dana White’s Criticism (UFC 151 Cancelled)

UFC president Dana White on Thursday had to do something he never thought he’d ever have to do. Following a knee injury to UFC 151 main event title challenger Dan Henderson – who was slated to fight UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones –White had to pull the plug, cancelling the entire UFC 151: Jones vs. Henderson event.

That’s the short of it. The long of it was a whirlwind 24 hours in which he thought the event would still take place, and a hastily assembled Thursday UFC 151 conference call that he thought would be used to announce a shift in opponents… not the cancellation of the event, altogether.

After several contenders turned down the shot at Jones, for various reasons, one man stepped up and accepted the challenge: Chael Sonnen. The UFC immediately went to work.

“Chael Sonnen accepted the fight with Jon Jones, wanted the fight bad. So as of eight, nine o’clock (Wednesday) night, we had a fight,” recounted White during Thursday’s announcement. “We here at the UFC started working.

“I was gonna do this call, and this was obviously going to be a much different call this morning, but the one thing that I never thought in a million years would happen, happened. Jon Jones said, ‘I’m not fighting Chael Sonnen with eight days notice.’”

The decision to not take the fight ultimately falls on the shoulders of Jones, but he didn’t make the decision without a consult first, and for that, White leveled some harsh criticism at Jones’ head trainer, Greg Jackson.

“Again, something that’s never happened in UFC history. A guy that’s a world champion and considered one of the pound-for-pound best turns down a fight,” said an exasperated White.

“How about this? He says I gotta sit down and talk to my coaches. His coach, Greg Jackson, says there is no way you take this fight. You don’t take this fight on eight days notice. It would be the biggest mistake of your entire career.

“Wow! Chael Sonnen is a 185-pounder, who wants to move up to 205, who hasn’t trained for this fight. The fight is in eight days, and he says he’ll fly here tonight to fight the supposed pound-for-pound third best fighter in the world, the world champion, and you have so much… I mean, how much faith do you have in your champion, in your guy?”

White has a point, but then again, so does Jones and his camp.

“It was actually three days notice; it’s not eight days notice because you don’t train the last week of a fight camp. That’s when you do media and weight cutting; there’s no real training going on there. When I was asked if fighting Sonnen for a world title on three days notice was a smart idea, I said no,” Jackson on Thursday explained to MMAWeekly.com.

“Chael is in a great position in that he’d been training with Dan Henderson for this fight, getting him ready, and he’s in shape. He knows the plan on what they’re gonna do to get around Jon. So he’s ready to go,” Jackson continued. “It’s not like he’s stepping off the couch and into a fight. So taking a fight of that caliber with a guy that’s ready, on three days notice, for a world championship, without any time to prepare, is just not professional to me.”

They tried to make the Machida fight for UFC 151, but Machida was already en route to Brazil. White said he could accept that.

What he couldn’t seem to accept was Jackson telling Jones that it wasn’t a smart idea to take a fight with Sonnen just eight days away from the event.

“I’ll go on the record saying, this guy is a (expletive) sport killer!” White said of Jackson. “This guy is from another planet. I’ve never even seen anything like it in my life.”

He is no more enamored by his current 205-pound champion.

“Good for you Jon Jones; you’re rich and you’ve got some money. You don’t need to take this fight, but there’s are a bunch of guys on the undercard that this is how they feed their family. This is how they make their living,” stated White.

“This is one of those disgusting decisions that doesn’t just effect you. You just affected 16 other people’s lives. I don’t think this is a decision that is going to make Jon Jones popular with the fans, sponsors, cable distributors, television network executives, or other fighters.”

At the time he counseled Jones, Jackson was unaware that the cancellation of one fight would lead to the cancellation of the entire event. In the end, however, he probably wouldn’t have told him anything different had he known.

“I don’t think I would’ve changed my opinion about it,” he told MMAWeekly.com. “That still doesn’t sound like a good idea at all.

“I was giving my opinion on if that was a good fight or not. Sonnen is no joke. He’s a great, great fighter.”

There are obviously differing factors for each side of the argument.

White, the promoter, sees the whole equation more from the “bigger picture” business side of the equation: how many dollars and sense it cost the UFC and all the various parties that would benefit from UFC 151 moving forward, including the other fighters on the card.

Jones and his camp have more of a vested interest in him being successful in whatever fight he takes, retaining the belt, and forwarding his brand. His brand is something that’s become quite valuable of late, including a recent sponsorship signing with Nike.

But whatever the reasoning of Jones’ camp, White wasn’t buying; particularly when it came to Jackson, whom White has often criticized for his approach to coaching fighters.

“Saying if Jon Jones takes the fight with Chael Sonnen it’d be the biggest mistake of his entire career because he’s not ready for that guy? Greg Jackson should never be interviewed by anybody ever again,” said White. “Except by a psychiatrist.”

Jackson wouldn’t bite, however, when it came to White’s barbs.

“I won’t say a bad thing about Dana White,” said Jones’ coach. “I respect him and I’m sorry he feels that way.”

greg has never been more wrong. NOT taking this fight is the worst thing that oould ever happen to his career. Nobody controlling JJ used their head and the sheep followed. clearly he is not a FIGHTER, sure a great athlete, but… WAS in my top 3 fav, now i wish he was cut and never fought again. this will cost him more than he knows

kohnny “no stone” jones coached by the guy that brought uss the great finishers of GSP, fitch, and guida. lmao

kaldani15

Fitch trains in san jose, jones is in new mexico bro. But i see what your saying lol. Greg jackson is a good coach but a dick. His fighter always fight each other.
guillard vs cerrone
jones vs evans
gsp vs condit

johnny “no stone” jones coached by the guy that brought uss the great finishers of GSP, fitch, and guida. lmao

oswaldcobblepott

UFC fights cards have no staying power with all the flyweight class divisions. Old UFC cards had more people they could plug in because they were intriguing beasts not these light rabbits bouncing round to round. This is Whites mess.

Bob

Seriously? You would rather watch a couple heavy weights hug each other for 3-5 rounds than see two lighter weight fighters put it on the line for 3-5 rounds and leave it all in the cage? There is generally more action in one round of a lower weight class fight than in the entire fight of most heavy weight fights and even some light heavy weight fights!

With the lighter weight classes you get to see more skill put on display as they actually have the cardio to fight for the entire fight.

I fought as a 125lbs kick boxer and fought guys as heavy as 195lbs. It was actually funny because my coach would just have me push a pace and cover up. After the first round they were slow and out of breath. Then I would put a beating on them. One 170lbs guy quit in the 3rd round and puked in the garbage can!

So I was happy when they brought back the 155lbs division, happy when they created the 145lbs division, happy when they created the 135lbs division and you guessed it- happy when they created the 125lbs division!

This isn’t White’s mess- its his Da Vinci!

onehitwonder

Don’t blame this on flyweights, they put on great fast fights, speaking of OLD school UFC, maybe they should bring back alternate fighters for the night,those guys were ready to step in on 5 min. notice and did, and won. bring back the fresh meat!! Maybe Jones is all about the NAME.

MrAdidas

Agree with most of what you said, EXCEPT for the shiting on Dana White/UFC for having a “horrible card.” I believe some of he BEST UFC’s have been the ones where there were NO title fights & when the main event wasnt a 5 rounder. I believe UFC 115 (I think) was in Vancouver, they didn’t have a good card at all (name wise), I think the main event was Liddell vs. Franklin (Franklin was irrelevant) & Liddell was already semi brain dead, yet it was one of the best UFC events EVER!!!

You dont “ALWAYS NEED” huge names, the names dont make the fights, fighters themselves make good fights. As for injuries, that’s part of it. The UFC arent going to have an event when the Champ declines to fight a MW/smaller guy who only has 8 days to train & still charge people $60-$70. It’s too late to change a PPV to a “free” fight or whatever, way too late.

Now, had the UFC continued with the event, 90% of you out there … the same ones crying about the event being cancelled, would complain that they are charging you $60-$70 to watch a “horrible card. It’s a lose – lose situation for the UFC b/c of people like you … who cry b/c they are cancelling the event b/c of the title fight being “axed,” or if they continued with the show without a “real” main event, you’d cry about having tp pay so much money for a “horrible” card. MAKE UP YOUR MINDS PEOPLE!!!

darrylreyes

You don’t need huge names to have an exciting even that I agree with, BUT you do need them if you want to sell the card. Besides the main event the rest of the card was pretty much irrelevant and would have done ABYSMALLY in PPV buys so Dana pulled the plug on it to save cash and threw Jones under the bus for what in essence was his own **** up.

by the way Mr. reporter, you need an update on your grammer…it’s DOLLARS AND CENTS…not DOLLARS AND SENSE

drastowell

Your really not that Stupid are you… Its a phrase Idiot.

RonnieV

Never had much respect for Greg Jackson, he loves to get his ugly mug on TV, and he always has boring startegies for his fighters. This fiasco hurts his & JJ’s reputation, and it should.

RonnieV

Never had much respect for Greg Jackson, he loves to get his ugly mug on TV, and he always has boring strategies for his fighters. This fiasco hurts his & JJ’s reputation, and it should.

dgs

What I find baffling about this is that Jones had a perfect opportunity to fight someone who he’s been trash talking with recently. Who wouldn’t want to fight someone who called you a “punk,” a “boy,” and a “mental midget?”

Additionally, even though Jackson claims Chael wouldn’t just be “stepping off a couch to fight,” the bottom line is the advantage is still all Jones. Helping to train someone for a fight is nothing like training for a figh, especially when it comes to cardio.

Lastly, as far as fight styles go, Sonnen is similar to Henderson in many ways, so an extensive reworking of a game plane should not have been necessary.

You’re the champion, you fight whoever they put in front of you, no questions asked. Man how I miss the early days of the UFC, when the fighters fought multiple times in a night and had no idea who they would be fighting before the fight started.

I wonder how Greg Jackson became an MMA coach, what were his credentials to do so? Has the man ever competed in MMA? How in the world did the man position himself to train world class athletes?

kylesmith

This makes me want to watch Rashad vs Machida, Jardine vs Houston Alexander, Diego vs BJ and Cowboy vs Diaz just so I can watch his phonies get PUNKED by some real fighters who aren’t afraid of anyone. Oh and so I can see the sad look on Jackson’s idiot face. The only thing he can teach anybody is how to put their tampon in.

Jon Jones fans can make any argument they want, but they cant deny that Jones didn’t take the fight because he was afraid of Chael Sonnen. That is literally what Jackson says here. He says on such short notice Chael Sonnen was too dangerous of a fighter, aka there was a good chance Chael Sonnen would beat Jon Jones, and the FEAR of that caused them to cancel. Jones being afraid of Chael Sonnen is indisputable. I’m not saying too afraid to fight him, but too afraid to do it anytime, anywhere? Absolutely.

MaritalArtist

Agreed. Say what you want about Chael, but he wasn’t kidding. On sept 1, he was absolutely prepared to go toe-to-toe with another GOAT, and without any training or preparation. That’s balls, kid.

Killshot76

I’m sorry, but I have to go with Jones on this one. First off, it’s wrong for Dana to put on Jones the responsibility of other fighters not getting their payday. If Dana saw it fit, for whatever reason, to cancel the whole event, then then it’s Dana who is responsible. To pass it off on Jones like he blew the whole event, is a cheap shot. Fighters get hurt all the time, and if Jones and Henderson couldn’t and wouldn’t fight, I’m sure there were other options.

Second, to be realistic, Jones is now a brand and he has to be smart and protect that brand. To walk into a fight with days notice and risk losing when he’s thought to be the pound for pound best, and highly marketable at this present time, really isn’t a wise decision. I could maybe understand the anger if the UFC was willing to do a Lutter/Silva thing when Lutter didn’t make weight. They still fought but it wasn’t for the title. If Jones/Sonnen were offered to fight with no title involved, maybe Dana would have ground to stand on. But for everything that’s on the line for Jones, with days notice, I’d turn it down too.

Like it or not, the UFC isn’t what it was in it’s earlier days where they fought for pride, to be the best, promote their art, and were willing to go through hell and back for the honor of being the best. Nowadays the fighters are looking for paydays, career longevity, endorsements, sponsorships, etc. Its the nature of the beast. Like every other sport, the UFC was bound to go this route.

So in the big scheme of things I don’t see how this was a bad decision on the part of Jones. It may not be a popular choice and will cost him some man points, but I guess you have to be smarter these days and look towards the days after the UFC…build yourself a little “nest egg” of sorts.

I’m not a fan of Jones, and I think Rashad was right when he said Jones’ humble and shy demeanor was a ruse and he’s really a cocky little prick, but in my opinion it’s Dana who blew it and he’s just trying to pass the buck.

adam1848

I agree completely. Excellent comment.

MaritalArtist

I agree with some of what you said. Yes, it’s not jones’ responsibility if a fight gets cancelled or not. But he chickened out. He is supposed to show up as agreed, regardless of who is opposite the octagon. That’s Dana’s job. Also, I don’t like how jones says he needs to make money, brand, blah blah…. That sonnen fight would have made him a f***load in PPV buys. I really think he was scared, because he’s never faced someone who truly has no fear. Every damn time he fights Anderson, he just walks right up to him to be met with kicks and punches! How crazy is that? Love the guy, despite his over the top trash talk which got a little out of hand last time vs Anderson.

bjjjay

I am not a disrespectful man, but you are wrong about alot of the things you said, and i will show you:

“First off, it’s wrong for Dana to put on Jones the responsibility of other fighters not getting their payday.” It is jones responsibility as a fighter to fight…. plane and simple, no matter who it is and when your fight falls through and some els wants to fight you and the whole entire card depends on it…. then its on your head.

“To pass it off on Jones like he blew the whole event, is a cheap shot.” Its only a cheep shot if its not true, but in this case jones totally blew it off. “Fighters get hurt all the time, and if Jones and Henderson couldn’t and wouldn’t fight, I’m sure there were other options.” There obviously was not, and when a B plane came along it was jones who turned it down.

“Second, to be realistic, Jones is now a brand and he has to be smart and protect that brand.” Jones is a brand yes, but he is a fighter first, always, and he didnt do a good job of protecting his brand and his legacy as a fighter buy doing this IMO. “To walk into a fight with days notice and risk losing when he’s thought to be the pound for pound best, and highly marketable at this present time, really isn’t a wise decision.” If you want to prove your a pond for pond best then the best way to do that is to fight a guy on days notice who just came up from another weight class. Even if he lost he is still vary marketable and the ufc im sure would have given him an instant rematch had he lost.

“Like it or not, the UFC isn’t what it was in it’s earlier days where they fought for pride, to be the best, promote their art, and were willing to go through hell and back for the honor of being the best.” You are so right about that let me tell you. By the way what are “man points”? “I guess you have to be smarter these days and look towards the days after the UFC…build yourself a little “nest egg” of sorts.” As a person you should think about that before you decide to become a professional fighter, if you want a “nest egg” then be an accountant or whatever you went to school for, not a fighter.

The fact the card could not stand without the main event is dana’s fault, but the fact that jones didnt save the card is only on him.

MMAGod

Killshot76 is right. Everyone can sit behind their keyboards and call Jones a chicken. I am sure Jones will cry all the way to the bank with that. He has worked his whole life to get where he is at, and I don’t think it’s fair for him risk his career, or livelihood by doing what WE want him to do. He is the champ, and he has earned the right to turn down this fight. Here is food for thought:

Why does the UFC give their fighters an option? Why not make it clear that in the event of a situation like this, another fighter will step in, regardless of who it is? My bosses don’t let me stop working just because things change in my environmnet. I still have to get the job done. Also, why is most of this not falling on Dana? He put together a sh*tty card, and now has to cancel. Who is the a$$hole here?

bjjjay

Jones would not be risking his career, he would still be fighting regardless if he won or lost. So what your saying is that jones has earned a right to turn down fights and guys like frankie edger and anderson silva have not? Both guys i just mentioned fought guys they did not want to fight, A.S. fought guys he thought didnt deserve a shot. Jones dos not have any more right to shote down a fight any more then any other champ, jones does not make the fights. All of this is a completely different situation any way, because peoples pay hung on the line, peoples careers. Dana should have put together a better card so this kinda thing does not happen…. but he didnt and it was up to jones to save the card, is that fair? hell no its not fair but life isnt fare, its hard and some times you are called to do something extraordinary in an unfair time, that is what truly makes a hero, a fighter, a man, and jones showed he is neither.

onehitwonder

His whole life ? i think he started doing MMA only 5 years ago, but your right, if he lost to Chael he’d be kicked out of the UFC and go work at walmart and be screwed like the rest of us common folks in poor mans land. This new thing of picking your fights is BS!! Jones is selling out plan and simple!!

KBEsq

I have to say, I cringed when I read, “Jones is a brand and he has to be smart and protect that brand.”

That’s ridiculous, and I really hope fighters are not starting to think like that. Do you not see how ridiculous that statement is considering the amount of backlash Jones is receiving?! The most true thing I can say is this: the amount of hate Jones is getting from turning the fight down is hurting his ‘brand’ a heck of a lot more than taking the fight and losing would. And let’s face facts. Jones was probably not going to lose the fight. Jones would have been fine no matter what happened. In fact, people would have taken the fact that this was a ‘lose/lose’ for Jones into account and given him credit for that.

What Jackson said about: ‘this is actually 3 days notice,’ is total BS. If anything, that only prejudices Sonnen more. Jones is fully trained for the fight, and would have to do the week of media/weight cutting regardless of who he’s fighting. Sonnen is the one who would miss out on training. Whatever disadvantage Jones is at for having his opponent changed at the last minute is WAY MORE than mitigated by the fact that his opponent is taking a fight on such short notice. Who cares that Sonnen was training with Henderson. That doesn’t mean he was in fight shape.

bjjjay

Good point, great comment

Jeff

You said pretty much everything I was going to in response to this “brand” nonsense. If JONES is half the “MAN” he says he is and more than Sonnen ever will be, then exactly WHAT is he afraid of or “risking”? Thats EXACTLY the point of the term “champion”. You are the GREATEST. TRUE CHAMPIONS dont turn down fights. I cant stand him even more so now. And anyone that talks this crap about “brand” is an idiot. Just like little monkey mayweather.

cockrobin1

After Henderson chickened out Mr Boldy White said only days later that there be no way Sonnen would just walk into another title fight, an rightly so in my opinion. Then when Machida decides to chicken out also the hammer falls on Jones, wat the fuck. Sonnen as for as fighting is concerned is just an amatuer wrestler he thinks by spitting enough venom at the likes of Silva an Jones that eventually the public an powers that be will be fired up enough to catapult him into title contention every time. Well i believe Jones and his management are right not to give him the shot he’ll now have to try make his way up the ladder like all the rest the guys who have to wait their turn.

Jeff

Exactly how did HENDERSON “chicken out”? Are you serious? Or seriously retarded? He kos Fedor but hes scared of Jones? Ok……. This just in, Dan Henderson was run over by a bus and is in intensive care. He cant fight jones. What do you think “cockrobin”? Oh hes just scared.

cockrobin1

I agree 100% with everything you said killshot well articulated except you fell at the last fence. I’m a Jones fan and i certainly wont be taken anything Evans has to say about his persona as gospel. I geniunely believe that Jon Jones will be champion for a long time to come, The reality is there isn’t anyone even on the horizion to trouble him.

onehitwonder

“Jones is now a brand” is the reason i don’t watch football anymore, players rather be over paid on a suck ass team then be fairly paid on a championship team, Lebron James finally got a clue and moved to Miami and won. Jones trying to keep everything perfect is going to back fire, even with his fancy moves and winning record, he’s a bore, the water will never be the right temperature JUST JUMP IN! or as NIKE puts it “JUST DO IT JON”

Dana is a great rep for the sport. You have to love his attitude about this. People talk trash about him but c’mon, he wants these fights and knows what hes talking about.

mma fanatic1982

^ agreed!!!!! it is blatanly obvious!!! chael is a wrestler like hendo, so he had plenty of training to be prepared for chael, chael dont have a h bomb lol so all he had to train for is wrestling which he already getting ready for hendo. jones is a punk, i onew it when the whole rashad thing went down. jones is a baby, and jackson sucks. first u backstab the original fighter who helped build your gym cred, then u slap your other champ fighter in the face when he is out on the stool, and try to send him back in the fight. then u make guida fight maynard like a wuss, lol i could go on. anyways jones dropped the ball, greg might have said no but it was on jones to make up his own mind as an adult! chael is right, jones is a mental midget haha, has to let daddy greg think for him!

rsnowbass

“chael dont have a h bomb lol so all he had to train for is wrestling which he already getting ready for hendo.”

You think training for a Southpaw is easy after you’ve been training 3 months to avoid a H-bomb?

For your username, I’d imagine you would have remembered that Chael is a lefty…

I’m not defending Jones, but your statement is uneducated.

MaritalArtist

Greg Jackson was right, but about the wrong thing. NOT taking this fight is going to be the biggest mistake of his career.

Hate to say it but Jackson is the puppet master here. Ever notice the only time Jones sounds like its his brain forming the words is right after a fight when Joe Rogan is interviewing him? Jackson is running the show plain and simple.

sc_a7da1b628655558b2820e9aa8a9c2236

Jackson makes perfect sense. Lots or retards on this thread. Do you not know that Chael and Hendo are on the same team? Do you not know they’ve been training TOGETHER for John Jones?? Go waist urself cksuckas.

yellowmonkey

Ha! So because he is on the same team, has helped Dan train, and poses some degree of a threat that is a justification to duck and run as a champion?

KBEsq

You make absolutely no sense. “Chael and Hendo are on the same team.”

So what? To the extent Chael and Hendo were discussing some kind of secret strategy to beat Jones, how does that change anything for Jones? He was already facing Hendo, who is/was privy to that ‘super secret’ information.

So either way, Jones was going to face a wrestler who had been discussing strategies to beat Jones. The only difference is that with Hendo, Jones is facing a fighter who had a full fight camp and he has to worry about getting KO’d.

TKD

Yeah, being on the same team means nothing to me. Basically, according to “sc_a7da1b628655558b2820e9aa8a9c2236”, Jones would be fighting against the exact same game plan that Henderson was bringing anyway, except that he would be fighting a guy with almost no training time. That totally favors Jones, so that is ridiculous!

I am guessing Jones just didn’t want to give Sonnen the time of day because of their war of words. In any event, we all got screwed by this!

Greg Jackson is going to kill this sport if he keeps turning his most﻿ popular fighters into pussy like guys running away from there opponent with no intentions of trying to finish and now tells JJ to not fight a guy that poses no threat to beat him. Greg Jackson Must Go!!

tomasarellano

I never liked Jones but i respected him as a fighter this guy is incredible tons of potential to be the best ever. Now i don’t like him and I’ll never respect him as a fighter. You might one day be the best ever but never a true champion.

So silly. Why would we do that? He didn’t kill anyone. Get some perspective on things before trying to ruin someone.

sc_98b9351859744002a96162c6ecc72512

Deal is sonnen and hendo are similar, both wrestlers and both pressure u, cept hendo has more standup power. If JJ was ready for hendo he should have been ready for sonnen. I think jackson and Jones were afraid losing to chael would make them look bad with only 8 days notice.

So johnny u r in it for PPV buys? chael is the right guy for u. never liked JJ, cant stand him now. I wont buy any cards with him but i cant wait till he loses.

and some of u guys are all mixed up. I read how JJ is here to protect his brand and legacy yada yada, but he himself says its about financial stability. if thats so, which is why he didnt want machida after hendo, then the hype monster sonnen is perfect. lies and excuses.

Dana White has every right to be upset because this disrupt the core of what people love about the UFC and differs it from boxing. As boxing has now become full of fighters running from other fighters to build their brand and continuing to keep their championship to try to make more money. In the end the overall boxing eventually began to lose money because people became less interested. The UFC has prided itself on guys never running from a fight always willing to step anybody any day unless injured (some will even fight then Anderson Silva v Chael Sonnen) Jon Jones just decline to fight a 185lb when he can arguably go up to heavyweight and be successful. The UFC always tries to give us the fight we want to see I hope this does not start a trend of fighters getting too big and running from fights. I know personally me and a lot of my friends lost a lot of respect for Jon Jones because not what UFC MMA is all about.

LongyDongy

Dan is too incompetent and unprofessional to stay healthy for his fight that is one week away…a number of LHW contenders back away from the offer to fight Bones…Machida turns down a fight with Bones with a month to prepare…the UFC brass makes UFC 151 so weak that all it takes is one man to pull out for it to crumble…and this is all Jonnie’s fault bc he didnt take a fight with a non-deserving MW contender who lost his last fight in devastating fashion. Interesting indeed

sc_01a350823f217ea607a08bd2c033d026

The argument that JJ has to protect his brand is crazy. JJ only has “his brand” because he fights for the UFC. If Dana cuts him or decides to strip his title and move him to heavy weight then put him on the back burner, like Fitch an a few others, his brand is gone. No more Nike or UFC sponsor money, no more PPV cut and if his PPV fight numbers drop because of this his brand suffers also. Greg Jackson maybe his trainer but JJ needs to hire a talent manager to think about “his brand’. This was a winning situation for JJ if he won or lost.

lycan

This would be the second time machida would take his fight against Jones on short notice , smart move by machida

Jon Jones shows he is not a team guy once again and shows what a selfish soon to be ex champion he is. From losing his best friends, to dui’s, to being to full of himself and not stepping up and fighting Sonnen. Jones claims to be a bad man, but now he is just another UFC Champion that will soon fall because he believes his own hype. Jackson his coach flat out is full of crap, Jones will lose, and lose soon and become the next Belfort have all this talent at a young age,but pissing it away. Jones shows how truely ungreatful he is to the fans and the sport that fills his pockets with coin.

Joshuarh20

I would agree that Jones is a chump for not taking the Sonnen fight. But it isn’t his fault th whole card needs to be cancelled that’s clearly the UFC’s fault. You need to have two good marketable fights with household name for PPV’s. The UFC needs to reduce the number of events its putting on a little bit so more names are available for these types of cards.

wonggfan

UFC could have just made JJ move up to HW and make him fight Heath Herring. I’ll bet you he would kill Heath in a round.

Then Dana could go around and say Jones beat a veteran at HW therefore he is clearly p4p #2.

durangoclimber

I really couldn’t stand Chael and all his trash talking with silva…but his interviews so far on this subject are SPOT ON. In all honesty I think JJ is/was worried about fighting Chael. While Chael isn’t one of my favorites, I’d have put money on him this time. Can’t wait to see it happen in the future and I may actually get some good laughs from Chael’s “legit” trash talking on this one!

Muaythai4life

Here are my 2 cents:

When Greg said it would be a big mistake to fight Chael on such short notice, put this into perspective;
– Jones fights Chael and wins, Jones was suppose to win, and it does nothing for his name/standing
– Jones fights Chael and it’s a close call. All of a sudden Jones is questionable.
– Jones fights Chael and loses. Jones was a fluke/joke and Chael proved it.

Look at GSP. He fought and lost his first attempt at Serra. He STILL hasn’t lived that down. Yes in the rematch he destroyed Serra, but everyone still questions his chin even though he took shots from guys like Hardy, Thiago Alves, and Koscheck (all known to be heavy hitters). That loss to Serra is a prime reason why GSP is not considered tied with A. Silva for p4p best in the world. GSP’s competition in his weight class has been arguably stiffer than A. Silva’s, but Silva didn’t lose to a short little stubby guy.

So Jones turns down the fight. I would have advised my guy to turn down that fight too. Chael and Dan are in no ways the same fighter. Chael has much better cardio, and his striking is extremely different. You only have to worry about the right hand and an inside leg kick from Dan. That’s about it. Their takedowns are very different. Both use the bodylock well, but Chael has a MUCH better doubleleg. Dan is content to stay in your guard and GNP you. Chael passes guard like maniac. The point is they are very different fighters.

Dana is mad and venting. He’s got a mic and an audience so he can do that. Say what you will about Greg Jackson, but he’s trained a LOT of champions.

Any real fighter will tell you there is a time in your career to take any fight that comes along, then there is a time in your career to take smart fights. Had this been the weight in and Dan missed weight by a pound and Jones refused to fight we may have a different argument. But turning down the fight with Chael was not the worst thing a fighter has ever done.

pogodog7

I guess Chicken Bones and Greg Jackson are now running the UFC. The next PPV will have Dana White kissing their bare asses for showing up to fight.

What seems funny to me is that when Jackson thought he was making a good business decision, he was probable making the worst business decision of his life. He just got a UFC event cancelled for the first time in it’s history, and ruined his relationship with the UFC leadership, and with it’s fans.

soboc1

Jackson was looking after the best interest of his fighter, which is what he should do. How was he to know that turning down the fight would mean cancelling the whole show? Thats on Dana and Joe Silva for putting together a crappy card. Dana had to throw someone under the bus. The show must go on, unless you’re counting on 1 fight to make the whole card.

SOULRIDER

Jon”NoStones”Jones SUX as a Champion! NOOO CHAMPION should EVER DUCK A FIGHT THAT IS OFFERED TO THEM!! EVER!!! Ya’ll wanna Blame Greg Jackson….yeah he gave his opinion but ULTIMATELY it was jonnies call and he pussied out. if he was a MAN he would have COMMANDED the fight his OWN!!! Yes these cards unstacked just fell on themselves…..the UFC rakes it in. I’m sure it wont but i hope this is a lesson to them that you should ALWAYS have 3 BAD ASS HIGH LEVEL FIGHTS on EVERY CARD!!!!!!! Cause if that EVER happens again…it could still be bad ass! Hell with all these damn weight classes surely you could??? And sombody mentioned all the rabit weit classes?!? Yes!!! they ARE enetrtaining to watch! I couldnt agree more!! But its like the diferentce of firing a 22 cal opposed to heavyweights Blasting Shotguns for hands! there’s gonna be FAR more KO’s in Heavys than flys. Just the dynamics! So Heavys will ALWAYS be MY favs!! 🙂

SOULRIDER

Jon”NoStones”Jones SUX as a Champion! NOOO CHAMPION should EVER DUCK A FIGHT THAT IS OFFERED TO THEM!! EVER!!! Ya’ll wanna Blame Greg Jackson….yeah he gave his opinion and didnt want his cash cow to lose, but ULTIMATELY it was jonnies call and he pussied out. If he was a MAN he would have COMMANDED the fight his OWN!!! Yes these cards unstacked just fell on themselves…..the UFC takes advatage too much of making “sense” mediocre cards. I’m sure it wont but i hope this is a lesson to them that they should ALWAYS have 3 BAD ASS HIGH LEVEL FIGHTS on EVERY CARD!!!!!!! Cause if that EVER happens again…it could still be bad ass! Hell with all these damn weight classes surely you could?!?!? And sombody mentioned all the rabit weight classes?!? Yes!!! they ARE enetrtaining to watch! I couldnt agree more!! But its like the diferentce of firing a 22 cal opposed to heavyweights Blasting Shotguns for hands! there’s gonna be FAR more KO’s in Heavys than flys. Just the dynamics! So Heavys will ALWAYS be favored more. Just the way the cookie crumbles. As for jonnie…..Silva stepped up and jonnie woulda turned him down as well anyways….i say make that fight on short notice or jonnies fired. (Word to Mr.White)

FlyingJ

Yes JJ pussed out on this one and I lost what little respect I had for him, but he has a point on his career. Because Dana and crew pocket almost all the money and give the fighters a fraction of the take on the fight, they are reliant on endorsements and other methods for their income. If their purse was Tyson like no one would ever turn down a fight ever. With those kind of purses for main cards you could even afford to loose a fight.

Ryukyukan Jim

Dana should be more prepared for something like this, it wasn’t a hard call to think that Henderson could be injured in training at this stage of his career. Dana never seems to take any blame, only threatens and intimidates others to get his way. Not good for the long run.

McFearless

Sure it would be dangerous to step into the ring with Sonnen without enough preparation but I think bitching out is more detrimental to his career. Not only will he lose fans but sponsors might shy away from picking him up. Not to mention that he’ll be on Dana’s shit list.

Jones could have easily made them sign an instant rematch clause and if he did lose he could have enough time to prep for the second fight. Who knows? It could even have turned into a classic trilogy. But what do i know? I’m drunk